The university's activities for Sustainable Development and Goal 10 presented in the reports for 2021-2022 and 2020-2021 "Lodz University of Technology on the path of sustainable development".
The Commission for Equalization of Educational Opportunities at KRASP was established at the initiative of Krakow universities in 2016.
It includes representatives of 15 academic centres, which are most advanced in providing educational support to students with disabilities and in need of special educational services.
One of the committee representatives is the employee of TUL.
The committee works on setting standards of educational support, as well as eliminating inequalities in access to academic education.
This is possible by promoting good practices, sharing knowledge with schools less advanced and also providing opinions on legal acts and regulations, e.g. the documents of MEiN (Ministry of Education) concerning students with disabilities.
The Commission also collaborates with NCBiR in the development of expert studies and model solutions for the "Accessibility Plus" program.
In the Department of Management, TUL, a project on better pension systems has been implemented. Taking into consideration data from over 20 countries and suggested indicators, such factors as income adequacy, efficiency and redistribution of pension schemes were measured, also across different pension regimes.
The innovation of the project meant the multidimensional approach to the measurement and evaluation of analyzed categories. The findings showed that there is no relation between the state and the market as to the pension income adequacy, however there is an impact on pension system effectiveness, especially when it comes to the labor market.
The project "Comparative Analyses of European Identities in Business and Every-Day Behaviour: EU-CAB", which has been worked on since 2018 on the Faculty of Management and is co-financed by the EU, is part of the Erasmus plus Strategic Partnership program in sector university education and it is going to be continued until December 2021.
The project involves field-based empirical research in the area of social studies. During studio visits the participants acquire competencies of working in an international team and in research methodology, as well as they also learn about other European countries and European systems in general. The aim of the project is to examine the extent to which a clearly visible shift towards nation-oriented states, as a result of the migration crisis, can be observed, both in economic and social sphere of life and how it affects human identity and human behavior. The project is being carried out by:
- Duale Hochschule Baden-Wurtemberg (coordinator),
- EM Strasbourg Business School,
- Lodz University of Technology,
- University of Cergy-Pontoise,
- University Institute of ISMAI,
- Budapest Business School,
- Porto Polytechnic,
- University of Lodz, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences.
One of the most important operations to reduce inequalities, within and between countries is to ensure equal access to education and to offer opportunities for skills development in the poorest regions and countries, which is a prerequisite for
economic advancement.
Since 2019 the Institute of Electrical Power Engineering has been collaborating with countries of south-east Asia region on the project eACCESS (EU- Asia Collaboration for accessible Education in Smart Power Systems) financed by EU Erasmus- CBHE
(Capacity Building in Higher Education).
The project objective is modernization of the education program, introduction of new methods and teaching tools. Development of teaching infrastructure including advanced laboratories in the field of renewable energy and sustainability in five partner universities from Bhutan, Nepal and Indonesia, is also a priority.
The coordinator of the project is TUL, Lodz, while the support to achieve the goals is from partner universities from Greece and Great Britain.
The project eACCESS is a continuation of earlier collaboration, which started with partner universities from south-east Asia in the project SmartLink and concentrated on university exchange (students, doctoral students and university employees) with e.g. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Indonesia.
BON (Office for People with Disabilities) at TUL offers support for students, doctoral students and university employees.
A disability coordinator has been appointed at TUL in every department.
In 2020 students in the number of 175 used the BON services. The university mainly offers their support to the disabled students in the form of specialist equipment, and organization of additional individual classes within the program of Individual Study Organization (IOS).
Other forms of help include transport assistance, psychological assistance in Polish and English, also online within the framework of the Academic Trust Centre, addiction prevention and vocational activation training, training of the teaching and administrative staff on disability issues.
For students with disabilities BON organized workshops developing psychological and social skills and for TUL employees trainings on digital accessibility to electronic documents and web accessibility in terms of creating, editing and auditing were offered in accordance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
BON has also cooperated with the Lodz branch of Fujitsu in organizing online The Open Day for the students. The event was held to celebrate the International Day of People with Disabilities. Twice a year the BON office publishes a free of charge magazine AION- Akademicki Informator Osób Niepełnosprawnych (Academic guide for people with disabilities) which is sent to all universities in Poland and other educational institutions (high schools, technical schools and non-governmental organizations).
In 2021 The National Centre for Research and Development awarded TUL with PLN 15mln in the competition for the disabled students and employees assistance.
The aim of projects implemented at TUL for the disabled students is to activate and increase participation in social life, develop interpersonal skills and overcome stereotypes regarding disabilities.
So far, the following projects: Aron, Diamond Grinder (Szlifiernia Diamentów) and Academic Development School (Akademicka Szkoła Rozwoju) have been successfully carried out. These are meant to create favourable conditions in order to strengthen the students’ self-reliance and the need for fulfilment.
The Commission for Equal Educational Opportunities at KRASP (CONFERENCE OF RECTORS OF ACADEMIC SCHOOLS IN POLAND) was established on the initiative of Krakow universities in 2016. It is composed of representatives of 15 academic centers, which are leaders in providing educational support to students with disabilities and special educational needs. One of the representatives of the committee is a Lodz University of Technology employee. The Commission deals with setting standards for educational support, as well as reducing inequalities in access to university education. This is done by promoting good practices, sharing knowledge with less advanced universities, as well as by issuing opinions on legal acts and regulations, e.g., documents of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage on students with disabilities. The Commission also cooperates with the National Centre for Research and Development in developing expert studies and model solutions, e.g., under the "Accessibility Plus" program.
Regulations of the internal anti-discrimination policy are in force at Lodz University of Technology: https://p.lodz.pl/pracowniks/wspiera/regulamin-antydiskryminacyjny-w-pl
They were introduced by Order No. 50/2019 of the Rector of TUL of September 23, 2019, which includes provisions on equality for job offers, hiring, establishing and terminating an employment relationship, terms of employment, promotion, access to training, etc. It states that any form of discrimination, including harassment and sexual harassment, is unacceptable and that hiring is to be carried out using transparent rules for selecting candidates. It regulates the rights to equal remuneration for equal work of the same quality. Equality issues are also regulated by the Labour Regulations in force at TUL: https://p.lodz.pl/pracowniks/hr-excellence-research-w-pl/wewnetrzne-akt…
Paragraph 94 of Section VIII Counteracting Discrimination and Mobbing refers to the Labour Code, in which in art. 113 states that: any discrimination in employment, direct or indirect, in particular on the grounds of sex, age, disability, race, religion, nationality, political beliefs, trade union membership, ethnic origin, denomination, sexual orientation, fixed-term employment or indefinite, full-time or part-time employment – is unacceptable. More information on https://p.lodz.pl/pracownik/rownosc-plci-w-politechnice-lodzka/akty-pra…
One of the most important activities aimed at reducing inequalities within and between countries is providing equal access to education and offering opportunities for skill development in the poorest regions and countries, which is a prerequisite for economic and social development. The Institute of Electrical Power Engineering at Lodz University of Technology is cooperating with countries in the Southeast Asian region under the eACCESS (EU-Asia Collaboration for aCcessible Education in Smart Power Systems) project, funded under the EU Erasmus-CBHE (Capacity Building in Higher Education) program. The aim of the project is to improve course programs, introduce innovative teaching methods and tools. The development of teaching infrastructure is also a priority, including advanced laboratories dedicated to renewable energy and sustainable development in five partner universities, in countries such as Butan, Nepal and Indonesia. TUL is the coordinator of the project, while European partners from Greece and the UK are providing support in pursuit of its goals. The eACCESS project is a continuation of earlier academic cooperation with partner universities from the Southeast Asian region, initiated under the SmartLink project, which focused on academic exchanges (students, staff, doctoral students) from countries such as Bangladesh, Butan, India and Indonesia.
Scientists of the TUL Faculty of Electrical, Electronic, Computer and Control Engineering participate in the international Erasmus+ project "VTECH - Accelerating Western Balkans University Modernization by Incorporating Virtual Technologies", which is to support Balkan universities in the use of modern technologies, including virtual (VR) and augmented (AR)) reality. By integrating virtual technology into the academic culture of universities, the project aims to improve the quality of education, thus contributing to upskilling and building a digital society in the Western Balkan countries. In March 2022, the project partners visited TUL for the first time. During this visit, workshops were held on the arrangement of virtual and augmented reality environments, user interface design and interaction scenarios, as well as application usability testing. Balkan universities find the knowledge of partners, including scientists from TUL, who have extensive design and practical experience in the field of technologies connecting the real and digital world, particularly attractive. It is thanks to them that the goals of the project are achieved: building the potential of academic staff in the field of including virtual technologies in the education process and developing teaching methods using ICT technology and tools based on knowledge and experience. There are 11 partners in the consortium, including 8 Balkan universities, and universities from Estonia (University of Tartu) and Slovenia (University of Ljubljana) provide knowledge and know-how in the field of modern forms of education.
There is an Office for Persons with Disabilities (BON) at TUL, which provides a very wide range of support for students, doctoral students and employees. In 2021, 145 students with disabilities (including 10 doctoral students) used the services of BON. The university's activities focused on supporting the education of people with disabilities e.g., by providing specialized equipment, organizing additional, supplementary and remedial classes and language courses, one-to-one classes - as part of Individual Organization of Studies (IOS) -or arranging transportation assistance to students who cannot walk. BON also offered workshops and training for students with disabilities developing psychosocial skills, training for employees on accessibility - including safe evacuation of people with disabilities, or psychological support during the pandemic for students and employees. A handbook available in Polish and English was published. In order to equalize educational opportunities for people with various disabilities and to disseminate academic education among groups at risk of social exclusion, the magazine "AION - Academic Handbook for Persons with Disabilities," is published on the TUL website and distributed free of charge to all universities in Poland and other educational institutions. A coordinator for people with disabilities has also been appointed at each TUL faculty.
TUL Sports Centre facilities are being systematically adapted to the needs of people with disabilities. In the 2021/22 academic year, a new elevator was put into use, a toilet and showers adapted to the needs of people with disabilities, and new ramps were made. Also, the Sports Bay was designed and built as a disabled-friendly facility. The swimming pool is located on ground floor, right at the entrance to the facility from the parking lot. Wheelchair users won't encounter any ramp or obstacle obstructing access to the checkouts and the pool. A spacious, separate changing room is available where a disabled person can comfortably prepare for swimming or other water activities. TUL Sports Bay has joined the Lodz Barrier Free Card. Its holders are offered entry to the swimming pool with a 40 percent discount. A sports section for people with disabilities has been established within the Academic Sports Association (AZS) under the name AZS Integration Sports Section.
Its goal is to create suitable conditions allowing students with disabilities to increase their participation in various forms of sports activities. In October 2021, the first Integrative AZS Weightlifting Championships for persons with disabilities were held in the Sports Bay. The athletes tried to beat their own personal records, and rules were strict. 37 athletes from all over the country took part. Athletes competed in 10 weight categories: 4 women's and 6 men's.
Since 2021, Lodz University of Technology has been implementing the Accessible University project, which aims to improve the accessibility of higher education, support organizational changes and improve the competence of staff in the higher education system. The project envisages the implementation of 10 tasks, including the initiation of the Centre of Excellence for Universal Design (CDPU), expanding the services and developing the competencies of the staff of the TUL Office for Persons with Disabilities, eliminating architectural barriers, developing an Interactive Map of the TUL Campus, expanding TUL’s educational support offer for persons with disabilities, etc. Activities implemented in the academic year 2021/22 include: launch of educational and career coaching for students with disabilities, appointment of accessibility coordinators at TUL units , audio description of TUL promotional resources, e.g. the videos published on YouTube, purchasing portable suitcase/telescope ramps, a Braille printer, and other equipment, training for employees (audio description of visual materials, creation and auditing of websites in accordance with WCAG 2.1 standard, training a coaching game instructor supporting people at risk of exclusion). In the 2021/22 academic year, 43 training courses were conducted, attended by a total of 430 TUL employees. The MIGAM sign language interpreter video connection service has also been launched for TUL faculties and centres. The service can be accessed through the TUL website or directly.The call can be made from any location seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
In addition, modernization of the TUL website and Wikamp platform has been done, partial renovation of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environmental Engineering building was carried out, adapting it to the needs of persons with reduced mobility. New equipment has been purchased for 4 laboratories.